


Nen Creature Arc 2.0

by Sunsinourhands



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Pariston Hill is a creepy motherfucker and ain't nobody want any part of that shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-01-01 13:29:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18335276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunsinourhands/pseuds/Sunsinourhands
Summary: [coming soon]





	1. After all, she is a princess.

**Author's Note:**

> [coming as soon as I piece my hecking thoughts together.]

The morning after Gon’s miraculous recovery, Knuckle suffered under one of the worst hangovers he could remember. Shoot’s recovery was proceeding along perfectly, more than perfectly. A celebration was in order.

What was absolutely fucking not in order was Morel shaking him awake and pushing a cup of coffee in his face. The older man desperately fumbled with his tie with his other hand, swearing as he looked into the hotel room mirror.

“Wake the hell up, Knuckle. I told you last night, we gotta pick up my kid. We’re going to be fucking late,” Morel said, far too loud than he should have. Knuckle growled, but downed half the coffee cup. When the fuck did Morel have a kid? He downed the rest of the coffee, muttered ‘shower’ and then stomped into the hotel bathroom.

Did that mean Morel had officially adopted Gon, too, by force? Wait no, Knuckle’s mind refused to operate even at half speed. Morel would never rush around like that for Gon. Besides, Gon was still getting checked over by half of the Association’s doctors. He wouldn’t be released for a few more days. Knuckle turned the shower knob to cold, doing his best to shock himself awake.

Water. Headache meds. Food. There was no point to even wonder. It was too early, and Knuckle was too hungover to care. Guess he was helping Morel pick up his rugrat from school or something. Although Knuckle couldn’t figure out why _he_ was getting dragged along for this. He was total shit with kids.

Knuckle shook his head, shivering under the water. You’d think he would be able to handle a little hangover after the shit he’d just been through with the Chimera Ants. But, that thought did little to muffle his urge to shriek. Eventually, Knuckle felt himself waking up and he vacated the shower. Next step, meds.

The Beast Hunter downed a few cold glasses of water from the sink, then a few pills from his travel kit. By the time Knuckle was halfway through his dressing and hair routine, Morel was grumbling for Knuckle to hurry up and fussing with his tie.

Ugh. Morel rarely worried this much over his appearance. The old man had near absolute self-confidence, even during fancy events. So what was the deal with this? Knuckle sprayed his trademark pompadour into place.

“You get made fun of by your kid or something?” Knuckle grumbled.

“Oh, yeah right. I’m cool, Knuckle. I’m a cool dad,” Morel barked, cementing his status as an old man who worried about being a cool dad but tried to pretend he didn’t.

Knuckle snorted, imagining Morel, a double star Hunter, cowed by an elementary school-aged brat. Yeah, the old man was a softy. Still. How had he gone this long without knowing Morel had a kid? Now that Knuckle’s brain was operating at half capacity, he couldn’t think of a single time Morel had said anything about having a family.

Aside from Knuckle and Shoot, that was.

Knuckle swallowed the questions that he didn’t want to fully form, even up until he and Morel left the hotel. Even after an official Hunter Association vehicle picked them up. But, he could only suppress those questions until they arrived at the Hunter Association flagship building’s front door.

To be completely honest, Knuckle didn’t think they’d see the place again in at least a year--especially after what happened with the Chairman election. By the time Knuckle and Morel found their way to Chairman Cheedle’s office, the questions were already trying to bust their way out. All Knuckle could do to keep from blurting them all out was shove cup after cup of coffee in his mouth while Morel spoke to Beans.

Beans made a call, then asked Morel to sit down and wait.

Knuckle peered at his teacher over his coffee cup. Then, Beans sat down at the same table, a piece of paper in hand.

“Alright, Morel. We just need to go over the terms of our agreement. First, Miss Betony is forbidden from learning Nen or becoming a Hunter. Miss Betony is barred from all Hunter exams, and cannot take work as a Freelancer under the Hunter Association. Miss Betony is required to submit to twice yearly examinations at the Hunter Association. Miss Betony must also record and submit, in detail, records of any objects she creates at the request of the Hunter Association and is obligated to submit to any lie detection exams regarding these objects at the discretion of the chairman, or representatives of the chairman,” Beans said.

Knuckle felt a small dribble of coffee escape his mouth.

Uh. What the fuck?

Knuckle mouthed the same question to Morel, but the Sea Hunter brushed him off.

“Yeah, yeah. Same old. Same old,” Morel said as he scrawled his signature on the release form Beans gave him.

Several minutes later, there was a knock at the Chairman’s door. Then, it opened, and someone stepped inside.

Knuckle nearly spat out his coffee, instead forcing it down in one large swallow before grabbing Morel by the scruff of his shirt and demanding, “Why the hell did you hide the fact that you had a total babe for a kid?!”

‘Miss Betony’ was probably about Gon’s height, with fine features showing a mixture of Asian and European heritage. She wore several layers of draping dresses and scarves, with the dresses cinched at her waist with a wide belt. Her build was, uh, well, Knuckle could find himself attracted to just about any type of person. But, he had a particular weakness for women in with enough meat on their bones that he could think of them as ‘succulent.’ And Miss Betony’s hips were bountiful, offset by a trim waist.

He couldn’t find himself imagining just how this person could be related to Morel--the human brick shithouse. Knuckle flat out refused to mentally grapple with the concept of those two people being genetically related.

The woman in question seemed to pick up on Knuckle’s thoughts--or perhaps it was just a very common topic.

“I’m adopted,” she said, pulling off one fringed shawl from around her shoulders.

“Wow you really wrapped yourself up there,” Morel commented.

“It’s cold down there,” Skuld replied.

“Anyway, Skuld, this is Knuckle Bine. He’s one of my apprentices,” Morel said, trying to force down a nervous laugh, “Knuckle, this is Skuld Betony. For various reasons, she’s my adopted kid.”

If Morel was honest, he had completely forgotten about Skuld being released from Association Custody. There had just been so much going on with the Extermination Mission, then the Ants, and then everything just blew up in his face. And then everything with Gon happened as well, and the Chairman election. If Beans hadn’t reminded him, Morel would have forgotten altogether.

Skuld and Knuckle shook hands, the Beast Hunter flinching and pulling his hand away for a second. Then he opened and closed his hands a few times.

“Shit, you got tiny hands,” Knuckle said.

Skuld cracked a small smile, “I get that a lot.”

Knuckle shoves his hands in his pockets, trying to grin back. He couldn’t quite manage to make it look natural. God. The first time in forever that he’d met a cutie like that who wouldn’t immediately knock him on his ass (like Cluck or half of the other Hunter women) and it was as awkward as humanly possible.

Now what? Morel wracked his brain for any idea of what to do next. He couldn’t think of a single conversation topic that wasn’t either classified, or wouldn’t let every single person in the room know he was grasping at straws.

The room fell into silence, no one willing to be the first person to say anything.

“Alright, well. Knuckle, we should probably go check on Shoot. Skuld, how about you tag along while your things get packed and then we’ll get you to the airport?” Morel offered.

Skuld nodded, but Knuckle caught her giving Morel an odd look. She knew something was off, too.

At that moment, Knuckle was struck by a thought. Aside from one or two classified missions, Knuckle, Shoot, and Morel had pretty much been attached for over the last decade. That meant Morel hadn’t seen Skuld in all that time. And, honestly, Morel didn’t strike Knuckle as an absent father even if his kid was adopted.

So that was one more thing that didn’t add up at all.

The three of them left Beans in the office, headed towards the hospital. Shoot was getting discharged later that day, due to the fact that several Hunters with healing Nen had showed up for the election. It was one stroke of good luck that they were all grateful for.

The silence followed them out of Beans’s office, and all the way to outside Shoot’s room. Knuckle wanted to scream. He couldn’t fucking stand how Morel was acting like a different person. Where was his loud, confidant teacher? Where were the shitty old man jokes? Where was a single hint of the Morel that he had spent the last decade and a half with?

Shoot also sensed something amiss as soon as the door opened. His leg cast was gone--freshly removed the previous day. All that was left for him was the final release paperwork. But, he knew right away that something wasn’t right--sending Knuckle an odd, questioning look. Meleoron and Ikalgo were there too, passing around a tablet and playing various games to occupy the time while waiting for Shoot’s release.

Knuckle, hands still in pockets, shuffled his way over to Shoot--hoping to make some sense of this situation as the introductions began. He was going to be so pissed if it turned out Shoot knew about this the entire time.

As it turned out, Shoot was even more clueless than Knuckle expected him to be. He only furrowed his brow, saying that Morel didn’t have any kids. Shoot’s face dropped into what Knuckle mentally considered ‘neutral pokerface.’ Well, at least Knuckle wasn’t the only one left out in the dark on this. It was still total bullshit, though.

Someone made the same comment Knuckle had thought earlier--that there was no way Morel and Skuld could actually be related by blood. The same adoption joke. A few laughs dusted the room.

“Yeah, there’s no way. After all, she is a Princess,” Meleoron laughed. Ikalgo slapped a tentacle on the table and laughed, agreeing.

Morel and Knuckle also chuckled, assuming it was a quip about how ugly Morel was. But, both Hunters seemed to catch the sudden crinkle around Skuld’s eyes. She wasn’t amused. If anything, she was a bit too serious for the joke--even if it was a bad one.

“Not to be a weirdo about this, but why do you say that?” Skuld asked.

“It’s obvious. Just like how the King was the King. You’re like...a Queen but, like a baby Queen. A Queen’s special child,” Meleoron muttered something about how he didn’t expect a royal to be so easy going in the presence of commoners--not that it was bad.

That time, Knuckle, Shoot, and Morel all picked up on the fact that Meleoron was speaking with capital letters for those titles. He was talking about the Chimera Ant King and Queen.

“Yeah, you guys are funny. Seriously, though. I’m not that ugly,” Morel tried to force a smile, and mouthed ‘Call Knov, right now’ to Knuckle while making a familiar hand gesture--the one they always used when they needed to get the hell outta dodge, and quick. It was the one they used when they made escapes via Knov’s Hide and Seek ability. Knov was in the same hospital, cutting a check for all the expenses incurred for Gon. So he’d be able to get there, quick.

Skuld had also stumbled over to the in-room sink, turned on the faucet to its coldest setting, and shoved her head into the sink in an effort not to vomit. Her skin turned a sickly, pale color--like all her blood had drained away. And there was visible sweat on the skin of her hands and the back of her neck. All three Hunters were intimately familiar with the symptoms of panic attacks--especially from Shoot’s younger years.

Ikalgo and Meleoron both stood up, sensing the tension that exploded into the room but unsure of what caused it. Ikalgo said something about Palm getting snacks from the vending machines, and dashed out the door to fetch her.

Shoot stood up from his seat, looking this way and that around the room. He probably had no idea what to do, Knuckle thought. Which made two of them. The Beast Hunter excused himself out of the room to call Knov--using a few code phrases that would make it sound like Morel wanted to eat steak on the other side of the country, or fish from somewhere else entirely. Whatever. Knov got the meaning right away. Knuckle heard Knov sigh over the phone and mutter about Morel’s flights of fancy when it came to food. He promised he’d meet up at the room as soon as possible.

Knov made his appearance, and asked no questions. Then, Palm and Ikalgo--the vending machine snacks forgotten. Palm wrapped one arm around Skuld’s side and hefted the smaller woman to her feet.

A key turned.

The hospital room opened up to somewhere else entirely.

And then the room emptied into that strange, extradimensional building.

 

It took Skuld Betony nearly twenty minutes of hiding under her own clothing to coax herself out of the panic attack. It turned out the voluminous cowl on her dress could fold up, and then down into a hood to hide under.

Knuckle didn’t think he’d ever seen such a item of clothing that otherwise screamed Shoot so much. Too bad it probably didn’t come in the tall man’s size. Knov passed around some water bottles from his stash, smouldering with annoyance over the fact that Morel had a decent idea of what was going on--but didn’t want to talk about the unfamiliar woman cowering in the corner like she wasn’t there.

Shoot seemed just plain bewildered that he wasn’t the one shivering in the corner this time, looking back and forth between Skuld and Morel and Knuckle. Yeah. How do you like it on the outside, asshole? Not really cool feeling that helpless was it? Knuckle thought bitterly.

Almost right on the 20-minute mark, Skuld pulled back her hood back into a decorative cowl and took a few deep breaths.

“Alright. Do you want the short version or the long version?” she asked.

Then, a pause.

“Wait, Morel. Do you have a copy of my dossier? Just show everyone that,” she suggested.

“No. The language in that thing is dehumanizing. I don’t like it,” Morel grumbled.

“Well, I don’t know any of the technical languages behind any of this bullshit,” Skuld sighed, ruffling her dark hair with both hands at a near-violent force.

“Alright. Short version. My mother is a Nen Creature from the Dark Continent and it makes my life very inconvenient,” Skuld’s flat delivery did the subject matter zero justice.

“That version is too short!” Morel complained.

Nobody else complained, but they had the same thought.

“Fine then! Long version!” Skuld snapped back, then took another few deep breaths before starting.


	2. Chapter 2: A Miserable Pile of Secrets

 

“So to sum it all up--” Knuckle began, making a motion like he was placing something boxy onto a low table “--Your birth mother was a wanted Nen-using criminal, and there was something fucked up about her from the beginning. Your entire life is weird, but you don’t know any better. 

Then you go to fancy-pants, rich-people college, your birth mother loses her shit, turns into a monster, and then tries to eat you. Nobody else seems to notice, and you lose your total shit. In the midst of a particularly terrifying nightmare, a giant woman made of shadows, lace, and a big white mask offers you a Contract to take care of the Monster Mom problem. You accept, because why the fuck not, and send a letter to the Hunter Association asking for help. 

But, they arrive too late, and your fucking monster mom legit eats you. Then you’re off in weird time-space-limbo for a while, and the Scary Giant Woman shows up and you have a long-ass therapy session. Then she offers you a second Contract, wherein you agree to become the Scary Giant Woman’s child--and the next thing you know you wake up in lock-down in the Hunter Association Basement. Your birth mother is dead. Turns out she ate your birth dad, and nobody is willing to tell you shit. But, the Scary Giant Woman tells you stuff in your dreams that you aren’t supposed to know--” Knuckle took a deep breath, massaging his temples as he tried to mentally grapple with the weirdest damn story he had ever heard outside of a Shonen Jump. 

“Pariston has some kind of weird scheme to lock you up in a lab for study indefinitely, and generally gives you the creeps. And, eventually, you’re let outside of the basement if you abide by a strict and long-ass list of requirements. And the boss here is your parole officer,” Knuckle peered at Morel. 

Morel nodded in agreement. 

“That,” Knuckle began, “Is the most fucked-up thing I have ever heard in my entire life.” 

“And you wouldn’t believe me if we weren’t sitting here with an Octopus person in a beanie and a giant Chameleon man in a tracksuit,” Skuld added. 

Several people looked like they wanted to say something--but not one of them actually did. Shoot was among the silent. She had a point. Honestly, Shoot wouldn’t have believed a word of it if Morel and Knov weren’t both aware of the previously-mentioned dossier. Well, that and the other thing. The fact that Shoot had also seen a Nen Creature by that description, himself, once. He could feel the sweat beading up at the back of his neck, a drop or two threatening to roll down his face. 

Shoot had not thought those particular memories would have come back to haunt him. 

After all, he thought the entire thing was just a fever dream at the time. And had, since. At least it made sense that Morel and Skuld has reacted the way they did. Morel, mostly. If Pariston has heard any of that, Skuld might very well be in danger of being locked up in a laboratory. 

Knuckle took a deep breath. 

“Any other secrets we should know about?” 

“What is a man, but a miserable pile of secrets?” Skuld grumbled.

Knov nearly choked on his own bottled water. Knuckle made a face. Shoot nearly swallowed his own tongue. If they hadn’t just fled from the Hunter Association, that would have been really funny. Unless Skuld was comparing herself to Dracula—then it was very possible that it was not at all funny. 

“What’s that supposta mean?” 

“It means that’s all that’s relevant to the situation! You want my three measurements, too?” Skuld’s irritation dissolved into frustration, and then apathy--all just in the span of those two sentences. 

Knuckle’s face went red, and this time it was his turn to choke on his own spit. Skuld’s expression didn’t show much embarrassment--despite what she just said. She looked so tired. Exhausted, even. There were dark smudges under her eyes, and there were even bags forming there. Skuld didn’t look very old, so that detail seemed out of place. 

“The point is—“ Morel shouted, breaking up the argument, “—now everyone is on the same page about the situation and hand, and we can be pretty sure none of Pariston’s goons heard this particular conversation!” 

Shoot, much like every other Hunter in that room, was no fan of Pariston. Pariston was a slimeball, a manipulative sociopath who took joy in causing chaos and the frustration of others. Shoot hated how charismatic Pariston was as well. People actually liked him, even though he was pretty much openly a jackass. Just because he was handsome and didn’t have trouble speaking. 

Morel looked torn, like he was trying to make a decision he didn’t want to make--and that was troubling. Morel always had a plan. Morel was always confident. Even if it took him a while to puzzle it out, Morel always had a winning solution. And he always knew that he would think of one. 

But, this time, Morel turned towards Skuld. Skuld looked back around the room with an expression that screamed, ‘Please don’t look at me for an answer.’ 

“You’re the one with the most to lose here,” Morel said. 

That was true. 

Skuld paused, fiddling with her hair again and chewing on her lower lip. 

“Well, the biggest problem really isn’t with anyone at the Association. The issue is Pariston and the Temp Hunters he controls--and since he’s quit as Chairman I’m assuming he’s got something going on that he’s way more interested in. But, this also means he’s able to play dirty out in the open. He’s got a lot of resources in terms of money, influence, and manpower. I don’t think I even need to mention the gap between us. If I try to live as a normal person, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that I’m going to end up in a lest tube,” she said. 

“But, if it’s out of my control, it’s out of my control. So I guess I can’t really worry about it,” Skuld sighed, picking at the sleeve of her dress. 

“Don’t act like we’re not going to take care of it,” Morel spat. 

“We can more than take Pariston’s goons. We got Kite and Colt taken care of. You just hang around with my boys and me, and we’ll get it all sorted,” Morel said. 

Shoot watched Morel put his hand up, ready to ruffle some hair. But, the Sea Hunter put it back at his side, seeming to decide against his first instinct. 

“That’s a pretty big liability,” Skuld said. 

Shoot expected Knov to say it. And, wow, that was an uncomfortable emotion that Shoot couldn’t name. He wasn’t sure what exactly Skuld meant. It could be a question of Morel’s commitment. No. That didn’t seem quite right. But, Skuld’s entire demeanor seemed off--inappropriate, even. This wasn’t the way someone who feared for their life--someone desperate to save their own life--behaved. 

Shoot’s gut told him there were really only two possibilities. Either Skuld had some fallback plan for escaping Pariston. Or, his instinct, suggested, she had a plan to die before falling into Pariston’s hands. The later was Shoot’s first guess, considering the way Skuld seemed to consider her fate more of an inevitability than a question. 

And that created an even more unpleasant feeling in Shoot’s gut. There was also a possibility that Skuld was deceiving them, somehow. But, that also didn’t track. There wasn’t enough information. There was a dossier. He’d have to get a hold of that and read it, later. Shoot kept to his thoughts for that moment, more intent on discerning if Skuld was lying than any plans that might form. 

Ikalgo, Meleoron, and Palm essentially only had one part in this--to avoid spilling any information to anyone untrustworthy. Anything was on a strict need-to-know basis. Morel and his team, plus Skuld, would head to a hotel in another part of the country. Knov would secure Skuld’s belongings, and store them using his Nen ability. Skuld requested one backpack and its contents, stating that the most important things she owned were in there. 

 

\------

 

“Ah, so you go stuck with babysitting me,” Skuld said it like she was joking. But, in a way, it was more truthful than saying the same thing a more polite way. 

Shoot didn’t reply. If he opened his mouth, this whole thing would probably dissolve into a mess. The UMA Hunter hid his sweaty hand in the folds of his kimono, and kept his back to the wall. That hid the sweat on the back of his neck. He had no idea why Morel had picked him for this, while he and Knuckle made further arrangements at the front desk. 

Sure, Shoot understood that they probably couldn’t leave Skuld alone. But, why him and not Knuckle? 

Skuld sat at a low coffee table in the hotel room, making tea with a generic tea set that came with the room. Shoot noticed that she wrinkled her nose when she smelled the tea packets. 

Shoot remained silent, standing against the wall. He looked at the floor, off to one side. 

Skuld let another breath out of her nose, and went silent. She was thinking about something. It was a few more minutes before she spoke. 

“You’ve met her at least once, my Mother.” 

Shoot said nothing. 

“She’s not dangerous. More like...an escort from life to death. We all may die alone, but she’s there to keep us company,” there was a small, near wistful smile on Skuld’s lips. 

“So she won’t stalk you and kill you in your sleep,” she said after a few more moments. 

The UMA Hunter would never admit that he’d started worrying about that exact thing happening after Skuld’s story. At the same time, he also mentally confirmed that, somehow, Skuld was getting information that she should have no access to. 

What was most concerning was that if Skuld’s story about the Nen Creature giving her information was correct, that meant it  _ remembered  _ Shoot. And that was one particular piece of horror story fodder Shoot could live without. 

God. It was an unsettling memory, even then. It was just a dark nothing with no temperature, smell, or sound. He had just stared at his own broken body, the creature that severed his arm had long skulked off with its meal--leaving him in that other space with nothing to do but wonder what was going to happen to him. Then, It was there. 

There was no fanfare, no noise, no indication of Its presence or arrival. Just seven feet tall of layered black mourning clothing--complete with a giant raven skull over the face. A long, lacey black veil covered almost everything, trailing off into the infinite darkness. 

He’d shivered, cried, unsure of his fate but terrified out of his mind. But, the Creature never made a single step towards him. Shoot had never worked up the nerve to speak to it, or look at it with anything but the corner of his eye. 

Only when the rescue crew arrived did something change. The Creature lifted one, slender finger to ruby-red lips underneath the bird mask in something like a ‘shhh’ motion. And then, Shoot had woken up in the hospital. 

Now, in the hotel room, Shoot tried to avoid shivering at the memory. The Chimera Ants were more fresh in his mind--but that incident was far more eerie. That was the one Shoot was certain he would have more nightmares about. 

Shoot’s gaze slid back to Skuld, who poured tea. Truthfully, he was full of questions and wanted answers. It was just that, at the end of the day, he didn’t know what questions to ask or how to ask them. Or how to ask a woman anything in the first place. 

It felt like Knuckle hadn’t taken the opportunity to shut up about Miss Betony being ‘a babe’ even once in one of Knuckle’s many chances to do so. Yes, thank you, Knuckle. Shoot was well aware that he was in the presence of someone he would immediately consider so far out of his league he may as well need the Hubble Space Telescope to look at her. He didn’t need the Beast Hunter calling attention to it, or their close proximity to her, every other hour. Wow, Knuckle. Shoot never would have figured out that particular difficulty and awkwardness of this entire situation out on his own. 

Maybe Knuckle’s own inexperience was what sent him skedaddling after Morel in the first place at the hotel. Knuckle might have talked a big game, but Shoot knew for a _ fact  _ that Knuckle hadn’t seen anyone for more than a first date since both of them started training to be Hunters in earnest. Knuckle might have tried his hand at flirting with other Hunters, but that got him both shut down  _ and _ thrown into the dirt on a near 95% rate. The other 5% accounted for deadpan rejections. Geeze, Knuckle. Get it together. 

Or, maybe Morel wanted to put a stop to any flirting before it started. That was another possibility. It was true that Morel could essentially trust Shoot to speak to no one outside the team when on a mission. But, where was Miss Betony’s place in proximity to ‘the team?’ Shoot had largely either worked alone, or along side Knuckle and Morel his entire Hunter career. He made it a point to avoid attractive people in general, because they made him anywhere from nervous to mute--depending on the day and anxiety level. 

Shoot glanced back at Miss Betony, who had taken out her phone and was clicking away. She frowned, and looked up at Shoot. 

“By the way, your friends already got ahold of my cell number, somehow. Were you the one who gave it out?” she asked, visibly annoyed. 

Meleoron, Palm, and Ikalgo had taken a group photo beside a hand-written sign that said ‘Eat Lots of Steak!’ and texted it to Skuld. If Shoot had any of the tea, he would have spit it out in that moment. Ikalgo and Meleoron, in particular, seemed to have adopted to human culture with frightening speed--making a lop-sided heart with their mismatched arms around the sign. After what had just happened in East Gorteau, the mood whiplash was extreme. 

Shoot made a small grunt, not really sure what to say. He certainly wasn’t giving out phone numbers that he didn’t have. But, he also had no idea what he was supposed to say in this situation. The UMA Hunter wasn’t exactly a practiced conversationalist. 

Come to think of it, Miss Betony sounded pretty pretty upset about it. Wasn’t that kind of a strange response? Granted, Palm, Ikalgo, and Meleoron were strange--not even human. But, that hadn’t seemed to bother Miss Betony earlier, in Knov’s Nen building. So what was bothering her about the situation, now? Shoot clicked his tongue, not sure what to think. 

“Anyone that recognizes my condition on instinct like that...it makes me uncomfortable. Like something is forcing them to be that way. So I’m left not knowing how to interact with them at all,” Skuld replied.

Shoot paused. 

He hadn’t actually said anything. But, Miss Betony had just answered his internal question. 

Shoot unwittingly made another noise. 

“It was the obvious question,” Skuld replied. 

Shoot wasn’t sure if he felt relief that someone could understand what he was thinking in that moment, or wariness. 


End file.
